It is a long-standing tradition of the Oberalp Group to highlight and reward special projects and achievements of employees with the so-called "Oberalp Awards" every year. Also, this year, the winners among the impressive number of submitted projects of 2022 were awarded this special prize. After extensive reviews and discussions, the Executive Board of the Oberalp Group announced the winners from among the proposed projects in November 2023. The awards were presented at the annual Employee Meeting by Ruth Oberrauch, Vice President of the Oberalp Group, together with Oberalp Group CEO Christoph Engl.

The Creativity & Innovation Award for 2023 was assigned to the EVOLAB project. EVOLAB is a completely new way to generate sales with an omnichannel approach for the climbing brand Evolv via the climbing gyms. It results from a strong collaboration between the Brand Team (Evolv) and the Trade Marketing Team. By now, EVOLAB is in a prototype phase, and the concept needs to be tested further; still, the team was creative in finding new ways (distribution channel, display, drop shipping) and implemented the first prototypes successfully. The new climbing gym market is approached with an innovative and service-oriented solution.

In the Risk Award category, projects, teams, or talents are honored annually for their courage - regardless of whether these decisions turned out to be the right ones. In this category, this year a young, talented woman stood out. Despite her age, she took the risk of being one of the leading speakers at one of the most important events of the Oberalp Group - the Oberalp Summit 2022 in Zurich. The Senior Management noticed her capabilities and approached her after only half a year in the company, and she did not step back, although the pressure was high. She put a lot of personal effort into the preparation of the Oberalp Summit and challenged herself in discussions with the supporting agency and the Management.

The Excellent Execution & Process Improvement Award 2023 was awarded to two teams. The first trophy was assigned to the department Dynafit Bindings. The team spent months and endless efforts in preparing the required documents. As a result, they obtained the first funding from the Free State of Bavaria (Bayerische Gesellschaft für Innovation und Wissenstransfer GmbH) in the history of Oberalp. The funding is extraordinary, allowing us to invest and go deeper into material research. The second award went to a team of two engaged women for the organization of the Oberalp Friends & Family Day. The team implemented a very appreciated event by our employees, their families, and the wider community, managing the event with nearly 600 participants, a small team, and a limited budget. The project team worked well together and showed an excellent hands-on approach during the event, in line with our company culture.

After that last year no award was granted for the sustainability category, Ruth Oberrauch Head of Sustainability is happy to assign the Sustainability Award 2023 to the team that was in charge of the Circular Experience at the Salewa Store in Bolzano. The new Salewa Circular Experience concept opens a new way to a circular business model for Oberalp and allows for getting immediate and vital feedback from the market. It shows what it means to go beyond sales and more deeply into service. The implementation of the second life corner and the idea of the dedicated hangtags with personalized messages are good examples of transmitting and communicating the value of this project.